1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera, and more specifically to camera control electronics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Still photo cameras are a popular means of recording events and are used by amateurs and professionals alike. Both film (conventional) cameras and digital cameras are widely used and relatively inexpensive. And while digital cameras have enjoyed a recent surge in popularity, film cameras still hold a majority of market share.
Please refer to FIG. 1 showing a typical camera 10 according to the prior art. The camera 10 is a film camera or a digital camera. The camera 10 comprises a power button 12 for turning the camera 10 on and off, a mode button 14 for changing a mode of the camera 10, and an exposure button 16 for taking a picture. Camera modes affect how the picture is taken and typically include modes such as a normal mode and a low-light mode. The camera 10 further includes other mechanisms (lenses, shutter, film advance, etc) and electronics (control circuit, auto focus, flash, etc) that are well known in the art. When a photographer wishes to take a picture, she must first press the power button 12 to turn the camera 10 on, then press the mode button 14 to put the camera 10 into a desired mode, and finally, aim the camera 10 and snap the photo with the exposure button 16. If one of these steps is skipped, the photo opportunity may be missed or the picture may turn out to be poor.
For user convenience it is sometimes desirable that a camera be small. If portability is a main concern of a camera user, camera manufacturers need to address this by reducing or combining components of the camera. The camera should be easy to handle and compact enough so it can be carried in a shirt pocket for instance. While the prior art camera 10 satisfies this compactness requirement in some respects, the buttons 12, 14, and 16 have some unnecessary redundancy. Thus, space in the camera 10 is wasted and the number of components and cost of the camera 10 are higher than required.
It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to provide a camera having a multimode power button that is capable of both turning the camera on and off and switching modes of the camera.
Briefly summarized, the claimed invention includes a camera having a power supply, a microcontroller with a timer, and a button capable of being actuated for an actuation time. When the camera is off and the button is actuated, the microcontroller turns the camera on. When the camera is on and the button is actuated so the actuation time is shorter than a threshold time, the microcontroller changes a mode of the camera. And when the camera is on and the button is actuated so the actuation time is not shorter than (equal to or longer than) the threshold time, the microcontroller turns the camera off.
According to the claimed invention, the threshold time is about 1.5 seconds.
It is an advantage of the claimed invention that the button allows a user to turn the camera off and on as well as to switch modes of the camera thereby reducing components in the camera and saving related costs.
It is a further advantage of the claimed invention that the single button makes the camera easier to use compared to a prior art camera having a multitude of single function buttons.